The Rivah: Chapter One
by KissMyAsteroid
Summary: Anne', as a sole Human serving on board a Romulan War Bird, helps combat the brutal and deadly Jem'Hadar.


Anne walked into the room and was completely surprised. It was an exact replica of the city she had grown up in. Fresh green forests, running blue rives, cold windy breeze that circled around her. All she could think was 'how could he have known it was like this? How could he have known what my home was like?' As she wandered around inside what Relva had called 'Minneapolis' she could hardley believe she was in a holodeck.  
>"well, is it believable?" Relva asked; thinking that he had made it exactly as she had remembered it. He never really ignored her, like he wanted her to think. The things she talked about, the opinions she had, they all held such great value to him. This was something he could never admit to her or even completely to himself.<br>"It's...astonishing. I had no idea you knew so much about Earth's geography. When did you find the time to do this?" She didn't really expect an answer from him, more like something of a snide look or a smirk to adorn his face.  
>"Do you remember the night we were on Carraya IV? When we were in that bar, and we were talking? About things past?"<br>"Yes, vaguely. That night was hard to forget; so much violence..."  
>"True... But do you remember when you told me of Earth? Of where you grew up?"<p>

Her gaze became fixated on him. She became very pensive; almost distant. As if she were looking right through him and not really seeing him at all. She had remembered their conversation, although it had been almost a year since. Or had it been longer? She could not really calculate; all the days and weeks and months seemed to bleed together. This mission had gone on far longer than expected. Tracking down a wanted traitor of the Romulan Star Empire was not essentially as quick and efficient as the council would like to believe. Anne could feel herself becoming distracted as she saw Relva's impatient stare on her.  
>"Yes, I remember telling you where I grew up. I told you how it looked, how it smelled and how the wind felt. I...didn't really think you were listening...honestly."<br>"Well, I was. Anne, I created this for you to help with stress. Romulans have other methods of relieving stress, but I know Humans are different. This program should help you get your mind off the mission for a few hours of the day; help you relax."  
>"Relax? Relva, we are hunting down THE most wanted man of the Romulan Star Empire. He's accused of betraying Romulus to the Dominion. He sold himself; AND Romulus to the damn Scalies."<br>"I am aware of what Selore has done. I know the severity of his crimes and that he must pay for them. He will."  
>"Yes, he will."<br>Anne felt a heart wrenching pain inside her chest. All she could think about were all the Romulans who had paid the price for Selore's treachery. All of the crew aboard the War bird Jelor had been doomed from the moment they intercepted Dominion chatter on that supposed secure channel. The reports of casualties had been in the upper hundreds. Selore had convinced them there was going to be a dominion attack on one of Earth's major intelligence facilities. Knowing this, the Jelore could not ignore it. They could not risk the possibility of loosing the Federation as allies if they did nothing wile the Dominion barraged the station into dust. Instead of simply contacting the Federation to warn them, they launched an assault on the Dominion; believing that they could eliminate the two Dominion ships. When they arrived, they found nothing but ruin. They were too late. The Dominion had a surprise waiting for them; 6 Dominion ships emerged from a neighboring Nebula and tore the Jelore apart. Anne had lost friends on board; good friends. People she had known for years. She knew their children... Anne had to keep herself from becoming emotional.  
>"Anne?"Relva broke her train of thought.<br>"What? I'm...sorry, Relva. I-I need some rest. I'll have to see you later." Anne turned to leave, but then hesitated. She turned around again to Face Relva. He was looking at her, a hint of concern in his eyes. She felt her heart swell. She wanted so badly to tell him how she felt; how he made her feel. But she knew it would never amount to anything. He could never accept her as she was; an outcast. She could see how he saw her...as someone who could never be what he needed.  
>"Relva, thank you for this. For trying to make this easier for me. I appreciate it."<br>"It...was nothing. Anne, just remember to call me Captain in front of the crew."  
>Anne smiled."Yessir."<br>The hallway twisted and wound around, like a spiral almost. It seemed almost never ending. 'When will I get to my quarters?' She reached the turbo lift at the end of the corridor and stepped inside. She saw Doctor Xion inside. He gave her a bone chilling look; she could see there was something he wanted to say to her but was refusing. "Deck 24." The lift engaged, making a swooshing sound as it propelled itself upward. The look the Doctor was giving her was gnawing at her. 'Why is he staring at me? What have I done this time?' He looked at her with a fierce anger, one of which she had never seen from him before. It unnerved her, made her feel uncomfortable. She hadn't felt that way in a long time.  
>"Doctor, is there something you wish to speak to me of?"<br>"Commander, I doubt you would want to hear it."  
>"Xion, I must insist. If there is something bothering you then tell me."<br>He stared at her for barely a moment before speaking.  
>"Commander; I know what you've done."<br>Anne was puzzled. She hadn't the faintest idea of what Xion was talking about. He could have been talking about any number of things...but any of them relevant? No. She stared at him for a time, giving him a chance to continue. When he did not, she felt she had to force it out of him. Looking into his bright green eyes, she asked "What are you talking about, Xion? What have I done?"  
>"You...have betrayed Romulus. You have betrayed me, everyone on this crew, and even yourself. Did you think no one would find out? That you would get away with your disgrace? Did you think that I would stand by and LET you do this?"<br>"Xion, what the hell are you talking about? What have I DONE?"  
>At this point Anne was becoming nervous. What did he think she had done. What was he accusing her of? He looked furious. Each passing second felt like an eon. His gaze turned from fury to one of nervousness. It seemed as though he had something else to say. He looked into her eyes, she could feel the anticipation in the air. Something needed to be said and she was going to force it.<br>"Xion. I'm waiting. Exactly WHAT are you accusing me of?"  
>"Treason."<br>"What? Treason? You can't be serious?"  
>"I can and I am. I know you're the one who's been aiding Selore in his treachery against the Empire. There is no other explanation. How else could he have carried out this nefarious plan? How else could he have done what he has done?"<br>She was utterly shocked. 'How could he think I had anything to do with this?' She felt her cheeks flush with anger. She had gone from the point of surprise to complete and total enragement. The thoughts of her friends dying under a Dominion attack came flooding back into her mind. She had to fight back the tears that threatened to come out. 'This CHILD is telling me he thinks I am responsible for the death of my friends! Who does he think he is?'  
>"Xion. This is outrageous. I had nothing to do with that attack, and you know it. I had friends on board the Jelor, and I would do NOTHING to jeopardize them."<br>"Really? Because this datapad here has actual proof of your meetings with Selore and your plans to ambush the Jelor. Everything is right here."  
>"Bullshit. I have had no such meetings with Selore; he's a filthy traitor and will pay for his crimes against h Empire. I wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near that bastard."<br>Xion looked amused. A smirk found its' way onto his face, acompanied by a furrowed brow indicating he had something insidious to offer. "Turbolift, halt," he demanded. Anne could see he had something planned. He knew what he was doing and he intended to carry it out. He came closer to Anne, staring at her in an almost perverse manner. She felt his eyes probing her; glaring at her.  
>"Commander, I have enough proof here to get you publicly executed for high treason. Every Romulan on Romulus will see your death and will only know that you betrayed us. After we took you in; sheltered you, taught you better ways than that of Humanity. You will be seen not as a martyr, but as a traitor. A defector. Someone who needed to be punished for her crimes. You will be labeled as Selore's accomplice; and who knows? Maybe even his whore."<br>The thought dawned on Anne that this was false evidence. Xion had nothing to throw against her that was legitimate. But upon closer examination of the data pad, she realized there was no way the council would rule this out. Every possible flaw had been attended to; every detail down to the last algorithm, there was no way she could prove her innocence against this type of blackmail.  
>"What do you want?"<br>"I'm not sure I understand."  
>"This is fake data, I can see that. And since this is obviously within my reach, I can safely assume you have backup data files stored where I could never reach them. Now we both know the council will never believe my word over yours; especially since you somehow managed to get this to look COMPLETELY genuine. So, my question is what do you want?"<br>She could feel the air become tense. He looked so pleased with himself; as if he had done exactly what he set out to do. 'What does he want? What could I possibly have that he would desire? He's the Chief Medical Officer of the damned Warbird Rivah! Any Romulan Doctor would kill for his position. It has to be something else.' She turned it over and over again inside her head, and still could not fathom what he would want from her.  
>She felt herself about to tremble. Something was telling her she knew what he wanted. Although she thought that someone could never be so callous as to demand such a thing from her. But then again, this was Xion Thedan; the remarkable genius Romulan Doctor who had made several breakthroughs in counteracting several deadly biogenic weapons the Dominion had hoped to used against the Romulans. Xion let out a deep sigh, as if preparing for something he had been rehearsing for months. There was a long pause, he took a deep breath and then said nothing but just looked at her for a moment. "Anne," he exclaimed almost softly. "...I don't want anything. Not yet...when I do, you will be informed." He glared at her coldly and then turned away from her, silently gazing at the turbolift doors.<br>Anne felt a mix of relief and panic. If he had wanted what she thought, he would have made the demand...and yet, he did not. 'What does he want?' She asked herself. She looked at him brazenly, a fire in her eyes. Irritation had found its' way upon her face and she was sure Xion could see it. She turned completely to face him and started to speak.  
>"Xion, you-"<br>"Anne, you will address me as Doctor Thedan or simply as Doctor. I will no longer tolerate your lack of respect for the chain of command. I am not your friend, nor will I ever be. Use my professional title or speak not at all."  
>"Fine. DOCTOR..." she remarked, snidely. A small break in sentence."I need to know WHY you have false data against me if you have no desire to GET something from me. This is obviously blackmail, I can see that. What I don't understand is why you demand nothing."<br>"Anne-Commander," he corrected himself, staring at her with a disgust she hadn't seen from him before. "I do not need to explain anything to you. I do need something from you, but it is not time yet. Keep yourself in check, do nothing to jeopardize this and once the task it complete..." he then smiled at her wickedly. "I will release you from any aforementioned treasonous accusations. Alright?" The turbolift stopped and he stepped outside and disappeared into the corridors.  
>As the doors shut again she sank back against the wall, running her hand through her hair in confusion and frustration. "Things just keep getting better and better." She shook her head and waited for the turbo lift to proceed to the next deck. The soft whooshing sound the turbo lift made as it propelled itself upward was oddly soothing. A sound Anne had become accustomed to centuries ago. Lost in thought, Anne was startled as the lift stopped on deck 26 and Captain Turon stepped in. Immediately realizing she was alone with him she stood up and saluted him accordingly.<br>"Deck 34." He smiled at her softly. "Anne, we are alone...it isn't necessary." She pulled her hand down to her side. "Yes, of course..."She trailed off and peered into his eyes nervously. She swallowed loudly and felt ashamed at the result of her own carelessness. She could see him looking at her curiously and she knew he wanted to ask her what was bothering her. 'Please don't ask, don't ask. Just don't.'  
>"Anne, is something bothering you?"<br>"...No." She felt her voice crack when she tried to speak. She looked at him with an intense passion that she hoped would distract him from asking anymore questions. 'I have no idea what Xion wants, but if Relva finds out about any of it I could be accused of crimes I did not commit.' She felt her mind wandering into a trance.  
>"Anne?" She jolted out of her trance and looked him, almost panicking.<br>"Anne, what is going on? You are acting very odd. What is bothering you?" A look of worry mixed with curiosity sat deeply on Relva's face. "Anne, answer me. What is bothering you?"  
>"I-I...am not feeling well Relva. Please forgive me but I fear I must get to my quarters quickly." She saw a wave of relief take over Relva's face. "Ah yes, the sickness from earlier. I should have remembered sooner. Forgive me." Anne was not used to Relva speaking to her like this. 'If a crew member were present, he would have been questioned intensely!' She listened as the lift reached Deck 28, her destination.<br>"No, Captain. It is I who should apologize. I should be in better control of my faculties. If you will allow it, I will leave you now."  
>He sighed deeply and hesitantly accepted her request. She made her way out of the turbo lift and looked back at him ovver her shoulder. He nodded at her and said " Rest well, I expect you to return to your duties in peak condition." Other crewmen were scattered about, so she knew he would have said something else had there been no one. 'My duties? Yes, can't shirk those off!' She staggered slightly as she walked down the long corrider towards her quarters. Fatigue and shock settled into her as she opened her door and fell into her bed face first. "Oh Anne," She muttered. "This is just great..."<br>After a few hours had passed her eyes fluttered open and she stared blankly at the cold grey cieling. For a few moments she laid there, almost unblinking. Xion had labeled her a traitor and had his fabricated proof. "But what does he want?" She asked herself. Only silence answered. "He just flew off the handle, accusing me of treason...and then, nothing." Slowly she raised herself out of bed and walked over to her mirror. She gazed deeply into its reflective glass seeing only confusion glare back at her. She grabbed her military jacket off of the chair next to her bed and slowly fastened it around herself. She paused for a moment; her reflection showing all the wear and tear that nestled deeply inside her. The bags under her eyes were enough proof to anybody that she barely rested. Yet, she still worked. "Why am I still here? On this ship? With these... ROMULANS?" Disgusted, she turned away from her mirror and msat down on her bed and buried her head into her hands in frustration. "Maybe he doesn't even know what he wants." She sat back and rolled her eyes, laughing at the idea that the great Doctor Xion Thedan could be unsure about anything.  
>She walked over to the door but upon opening it she immediately heard the red alert sound. "What the hell?" She felt an enormous impact hit the ship and it sent her flying into a bulkhead. Shaking and her vision blurred slightly she looked around to see five other crewmen strewn on the ground, unconscious. Without time to think, another burst hit the ship and sent them flying around the deck again. Anne's com badge started wailing, but she could barely stand up long enough to answer the call. A break in the attack gave her time enough to tap her badge. "Report! Report! What the HELL is going on, Crewmen?" The attack picked up again and all Anne could hear was static.<br>"Crewmen, I can not hear you. What-"  
>"...Jem'Hadar! ...presence is needed!..."<br>Anne didn't bother to reply and ran toward the turbo lift. The Jem'Hadar were attacking their ship.  
>Once she managed to reach the turbo lift and avoid getting knocked in the head by a collapsing door, she demanded the lift take her to the bridge. There was hesitation and then no response. She commanded again and was met with another bought of silence. "Shit. Looks like I'm going to have to go manually." The thought was not very appealing, as the bridge itself was on Deck 1 while she was on Deck 28. She quickly climbed the side of the lift and popped th top of the lift off and started climbing through the opening. Looking up, she could see smoke and loose wires crackling above. Luckily for her, the smoke was bearable enough to suffer through. "Well, here we go. I had better be-" Her sentence was cut short as she felt another impact, the sound itself was muffled a bit. "God! I have got to learn to shut up and focus." Shaking her head at her own lack of priority, she climbed out of the top of the turbo lift and swung around to the side to latch onto the ladder outside.<br>She started climbing as fast as she could go. Hopefully she could reach a Jeffrey's tube so she could crawl to the bridge without fear of falling. Section after section passed and she was met with little resistance. She could see a Jeffrey's tube at the side of the next section. "Finally, it's about damn time." She started climbing faster and the continuous attacks started rattling the entire ship. She saw a small piece of metal from afar start crumbling and fall towards her. A few seconds later her eyes widened with shock as she realized it wasn't a small piece of metal, but hull plating that had been shot off in the last barrage. Clambering to get up to the next deck as fast as possible, she almost slipped off of the ladder. With her adrenelaine rushing, heart pumping and blood pulsing she made it inside the Jeffrey's tube just before the plating hit the very spot she was just on no less than 5 seconds ago. Slumped up against the cramped interior of the Jeffrey's tube, she let out a huge sigh of momentary relief.  
>She pulled out her tricorder and set it to scan for radiation. Readings displayed minor radiation leaks throughout the entire tube. "Great. Well, this will be exiting." She put away her tricorder and ventured forth. Frayed wires sparked and crackled as she made her way through the tube. She started to feel hot and slightly weak from the radiation. 'Good thing I'm built for this. At least those Romulan pricks did that right.' Broken glass and computer components were strewn everywhere and Anne was soon wearing her own blood on her clothing. She came to an intersection in the tube. "Good, this must be where I can switch out of this mess." She popped her head around each of the corridors and found the right one that led her into a small room where she was able to pop out of the Jeffrey's tubes. Jumping out, she closed the hatch to the tubes firmly and heard a small muffled explosion immediately afterward. She sunk back against the wall and took a moment to collect herself before standing up. She saw a working computer module and tapped the controls. "Computer. Report." Luckily for Anne, this installment was still working and active. It responded.<br>"Jem'Haddar-r-r are attacking the War bird. F-f-five ships detected. Cloaking de-device offline. L-life s-s-spport... life support failing. Warp core breech eminent...Evacuation highly advised." Anne paused for a second, and then spoke."Computer, how many remaining crewmen still live?" Anne was hoping the death toll wouldn't be like the reports on the Jelore. This entire situation was far too similar to that of the Jedore's unfortunate end.  
>"Detecting 208 life sings remaining out of 3,045 crew members. " Anne's eyes widened. '208? ONLY 208 survived so far? What weapons are they using on this ship?' "Computer-" before Anne could request anything from the computer she was abruptly grabbed from behind. Before thinking of who it could be, she immediately turned around and slammed the palm of her hand into the perpetrator's nose and knocked them to the ground. Anger and pain struck her face for a few seconds before she realized who it was. Captain Turon lay on the ground gripping his nose as blood gushed forth. Taken aback her eyes widened with shock.<br>"Captain!" Anne ran to his side and lifted his head into her lap. "Forgive me! Had I known-" She stopped herself short as she realized he was badly wounded. Blood drenched his entire uniform, open wounds stood a severe chance of infection if she didn't get him to a doctor quickly. "Captain, you are severely wounded. We need to get you to the doctor!"  
>When he finally opened his mouth to speak he coughed up a small amount of blood. "Anne! There is no time. We need to retreat. The attack it too much; we can not survive." He gripped Anne's sleeve and tried to pull himself up, but his wounds were simply too much. He collapsed onto the floor. Anne tore off her outter jacket and used it to dab off the blood on Relva's face. "Captain, we will survive. We need to reach the escape pods. The Jem'Hadar will not be focused on one retreating vessel. It seems their main objective concerns the destruction of the Rivah." She helped Relva up to his feet and used her body as support to help him walk. They quickly turned out of the room and walked down the long corridor towards the next turbo lift. 'This one had BETTER be working,' she thought to herself. The hallway seemed to go on forever, constantly turning one way or another. Anne's com badge kept making static sounds, but nothing ever got through. "Communications are still out? Good, I don't think I want to hear their deaths..." Relva looked at Anne with a pitiful look on his face.<br>After what seemed like hours, they stumbled upon the turbo lift. Anne rushed into the lift with Relva practically slung over her shoulder and set him down on the floor. Right as the turbo lift doors were closing, she saw a platoon of Jem'Haddar soldiers marching down the adjacent hallway. Dozens of them. Maybe even more. Phasershots were fired; she heard screams that pierced the sound proof doors of the turbo lift. Trying to stop herself from loosing her composure, she directed the computer. "Cargo bay 12, destination to the escape pods." The computer responded and the lift made its' way down. A constant whooshing indicated it was indeed working correctly. The lift stopped at the cargo bays and Anne slung Relva over her shoulder and leaped out of the lift. She readied her weapon, not knowing if she would need it or not. "I've been pretty lucky so far. I don't want to push it." Relva was loosing so much blood, he couldn't respond properly and all Anne heard from him was something that sounded like "Ungh...fint..."  
>Rushing over to Cargo bay 12, she was confronted by a lone Jem'Haddar soldier. He instantly raised his weapon to fire upon her, but she was already prepared and fired a shot right between his eyes. He collapsed to the ground, his gun falling out of his lifeless hand. She tapped the buttons on the console outside of the cargo bay. It was in lock down. "Shit." She typed in her clearance and it still denied access. "What? How can I be denied access? I have top level clearance!" She repeated her access code and was denied again. "Computer, report!" The computers' vocal program was slightly damaged. "Cargo B-bay in Lockd-down. All access denied. As w-was confirmed by D-d-d-d-" Anne punched the side wall next to the computer panel to try and get it working again. "-Doctor Xion Thedan. No personnel a-a-allowed p-past this p-point."<br>"Xion? Computer, is Doctor Thedan in Cargo Bay 12?"  
>"Affirmative."<br>"Are communications currently functioning on this panel?"  
>"Affirmative."<br>"Computer, open a direct channel to Cargo Bay 12. Acces clearance code 1185BetaO'mally." "Code accepted, channel now open."  
>Anne waited for a moment and could hear footsteps on the other side of the cargo bay. "Doctor? Doctor, it is Commander O'Mally. I have the Captain, he is gravely wounded. You must allow us access!" She heard a rustling sound and then a hurried breathing as Xion ran to the panel. "Commander? You're alive? The Captain is alive? How-"<br>"No time, Doctor! Open the door. Jem'Haddar are infesting this ship!"  
>Xion fumbled with the computer panel and the doors opened instantly. Anne leapt through with the Captain, who was now unconscious. She ran over to the panel and resealed the doors. She installed a force field around the interior of the door to further their protection. She took out her phaser and fired a shot next to the computer panel, destroying it and putting the cargo bay into permanent lockdown. "There, no NO ONE is getting in." She turned to face the Doctor who was also severely wounded. He had several lacerations on his face and his clothing was torn from what looked like a Jem'Hadar kar'takin. "Doctor? Are you alright?" He looked at her annoyed and said nothing. "Apparently so. Let's get out of here. Help me raise the Captain up." They walked over to him and each of them took one of his arms and dragged him towards the shuttle. The constant onslaught of energy bursts hitting the ship made it abundantly clear they had little time to waste. They secured themselves inside the shuttle and Anne sealed the doors.<br>"Activating shields! Preparing weapons. Engines are go. We are ready to get the HELL out of here!" Anne didn't wait to tell the computer to open the bay doors, she could already hear the commotion of Jem'Hadar outside of the cargo bay. She ignited the doors with a continuous enrgy pulse and the doors broke apart; the vacuum of space sucking them into its' black abyss. She commanded the shuttle to go to warp, but the computer advised against it. "Warning: Activating warp drive inside the cargo bay could result in a chain reaction. Not recommended."  
>"Acknowledged, now do it anyway! Warp 8, NOW!" The computer complied and the engines powering up created a spark of energy that lit the entire bay a greenish tinge. The excess power build up in such a small space caused a reaction, as the computer said it would, and the electrical disturbance cause the shielding on the bay door to fail. The doors were ripped off the ship and the resulting electrical disturbance caused a massive explosion inside the corridors. "Alright, alright! Time to go, computer. Now!" The ship accelerated and they warped away from the ship, which was now bursting into flames. The oxygen seeped out of every extremity the ship had, and it imploded in on itself. Now a dead ship, all Jem'Hadar and Romulans on board perished simultaneously.<p> 


End file.
